The study focused on rock climbing in Italy and was based on 40 interviews. Participants included both indoor facilities suppliers and rock climbers. Data analysis identified three themes: nature as an outdoor environment; naturalness as a matter of the emotions and sensations involved; and naturalness as a wild lifestyle. Results revealed that climbing and nature remain closely connected. However, practitioners evoke nature not only as a specific context for their practice (nature as an outdoor environment), but as a more general frame recalling the idea of naturalness, defining distinctive lifestyles and movements. Findings also revealed that reference to nature is still a relevant dimension in the way Italian climbers define themselves and authenticate their practice. In conclusion, rock climbing in Italy has problematized the impact of indoorization on climbing as a practice, showing that, at least in the Italian context, the reference to naturalness is still a core dimension of the hot authentication of rock climbing. The naturalness of climbing also resides in the kind of emotions and sensations involved in the practice.
Camoletto, R. F., & Marcelli, D. (2019). Keeping it natural? Challenging indoorization in Italian rock climbing, Annals of Leisure Research.
